Alone with the Kids
by Midna Azusa
Summary: Ever notice how Leo and Luna are a lot like Jaden and Alexis? Well, what if they were related? When Alexis gets called off to Duel Academy during the summer, Jaden gets left home alone with the kids. Can he handle it? Dub names, fianceshipping, OCs later on. Collab with Shadgirl2.
1. Called Away

**A/N: This is a random idea Shadgirl2 thought up when she realized just how similar Leo/Rua and Jaden/Judai are. She and I got to talking about their similarity, which led to comparing Alexis/Asuka with Luna/Ruka. Anyway, we started wondering if the twins weren't related to the GX guys, which led to this story. Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.**

* * *

After graduation, Jaden ran off and became a hero, traveling the world. Alexis had tracked him down after about four years, and they had started dating. After awhile, the brunette proposed, earning a yes from his girlfriend, who then became his fiance (a word he now understood meant they were going to get married). Soon after, they had gotten married, and the traveling hero had to settle down.

For awhile, he debated finding a real job. That is, until he went to the bank one day right before a man showed up to rob it. He managed to stop the guy and immobilize him before the police were even called, earning the mayor's attention. Other such coincidental incidents—such as a man assaulting a woman and a robbery he just happened to be walking past—convinced the mayor that he could be handy to have around, vigilante or not. Much to the police department's initial annoyance, the mayor started calling on him for cases that the department had difficulty with. In time, they came to accept his help, especially after he wound up saving several of their own from a hostage situation.

As for Alexis, she had become a teacher at Duel Academy after graduating from college. Usually she was the one with the steady income. It was good that one of them had a steady job because the birth of their twins had caught Jaden off-guard.

How they could be his kids, he hadn't quite figured out. They looked nothing like their parents, with teal hair contrasting so sharply with the blond of their mother and the two tones in their father's hair. The eyes were closer, though still off—they were brown with a hint of yellow. Regardless, they sure _acted_ like their parents—Leonard, or Leo, their son, was a lot like Jaden had been when he was little, though maybe a bit more hyperactive. Luna was more like her mother, though she was also more of a girly-girl than Alexis.

The kids were sent to boarding school as soon as they started kindergarten. With Alexis having a job that kept her away from home throughout the school year and Jaden having times when he was so busy he was hardly ever home, this was their only option. Well, besides leaving the kids with Jesse or Syrus for the whole year.

* * *

The kids had just gotten home from their first year of boarding school. Alexis was home, too. Heck, even Jaden was home. There wasn't much going on crime wise in town lately, so he didn't have a lot of work to do. While it was great being able to spend time with his family, it was also a little boring.

That is, until the phone rang one day.

Alexis picked it up, saying, "Hello?" She listened for a moment, then said, "Oh, hi, sir. How are you?" Catching her kids out of the corner of her eye, she said, "Leo, quit teasing your sister! I'm sorry. You were saying?" As she listened to what the caller was saying, she nodded, saying, "Uh-huh...okay... Sure I can... Okay. I'll see you then."

As she hung up the phone, she thought, _Oh, boy. Wonder what's up now?_

Deciding she'd worry about that later, she left to find her husband.

* * *

Jaden was relaxing in the backyard, lying on the grass and enjoying the warm sun on his face and the gentle breeze. Well, he was until his daughter came storming out of the house.

"Dad? Can I _please_ have a new brother?" she asked. "Leo's driving me nuts again."

Jaden sat up, a bit too used to this as he asked, "What's he doing now, Luna?"

"He keeps picking on me because I'm talking to Kuribon. He called me crazy again."

_"__Kuri,"_ the little female spirit said. She was a brown furball, not unlike a regular Kuriboh, but with only two clawless feet and a ratlike tail with a red ribbon tied around it.

Jaden sighed. "Again?"

Before they had started school, Leo had teased Luna about her "imaginary friend." Alexis and Jaden had talked to him about this, telling him that she could see spirits, and he had believed them. That is, until he had started school. Ever since he had gotten back, he had been calling Luna crazy.

Luna and Kuribon nodded.

"Alright, I'll talk to him."

"Thanks, Daddy. You're the best!" she said, hugging him. Kuribon joined in, too.

Jaden laughed lightly. "You two are adorable."

Winged Kuriboh hugged his daughter, Kuribon, in agreement with Jaden's statement. _"Kuri!"_

When Luna let go, Jaden headed off to find Leo.

* * *

When Jaden found Leo, Alexis had beaten him to the punch. She was already scolding him.

"But, Mom!" Leo defended. "She _is_ weird! She's always talking to herself!"

"That's enough out of you, young man," Alexis said. "You know she can see spirits."

"But everyone at school says there's no such thing! They're always calling her weird! Why do you defend her so much? She needs help, not defense!"

"Really?" Jaden asked, walking over. "Guess that means I do, too, right, partner?" He looked at Winged Kuriboh as he finished.

_"__Kuri!"_

Leo sweat, knowing he was in trouble. "Uh, hi, Dad."

"Hey, Leo," Jaden said, grinning mischievously.

"Look, about Luna, you don't have to pretend to be like her to defend her. She doesn't need that."

"Leo, I'm not pretending. I really _can_ see spirits, just like your sister." With a wink, he added, "She gets it from me."

"Come on, Dad! Don't you think that's getting a little old?"

"Leo. He's not kidding," Alexis said before looking at Jaden.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not."

"Do you think I'm stupid or something!? You know there's no such thing!"

"Really? Then why don't you tell me what happened during your father's and my third year of high school, then," Alexis said flatly.

A couple years ago, Jaden and Alexis had to tell Leo what had happened to them in an attempt to prove that duel spirits were real. He had believed them, until now.

"Not _that_ fairy tale again!" Leo said, crossing his arms. "That's not even possible! My classmates said so!"

Jaden frowned—the more he heard about what these classmates said, the less he liked them. "Leo, your classmates don't know everything, though I'm glad _they_ can think we made all that up."

"But everyone says—"

"I don't care what everyone says!" Alexis cut him off. "It happened, and that's that! Now, if you don't quit arguing and apologize to your sister, you're going to bed without supper!"

"But, Mom!"

"Don't 'but, Mom' me, young man! You know what you did was wrong! Now go tell Luna you're sorry. Go on!"

Leo sighed. "Yeah. Okay." As he walked off, he muttered, "But I still think you're crazy."

Alexis ran a hand through her hair, saying, "I swear. What are we gonna do with him?"

Jaden shrugged. "I'm sure he'll grow out of it in time. I mean, sooner or later, he's gonna learn that he can't believe everything his classmates say."

_"__Then again, it's not just his classmates that think your story's crazy. I mean, who wouldn't, right?"_ Yubel taunted.

"Again with the backtalk...," Jaden muttered.

"I hope you're right, Jay. I mean, he's so stubborn sometimes. What if he only gets worse? It is hard to believe. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't been there."

He rubbed the back of his head, saying, "You have a point..."

"Well, anyway, Jaden? We need to talk."

"Sure, Lex. What about?"

"Well, I just received a call from Chancellor Sheppard. Apparently there's a slight problem at the campus summer school, and they want me to deal with it. So I'm going to be gone for awhile, and I need you to watch the kids, okay?"

"Okay!" he said cheerily.

"Great. You think you'll be okay? I mean, they're our kids, after all," she said, concerned.

"Aw, don't worry about it! We'll be fine!" he assured her.

_"__Really?"_ Yubel asked. _"So you can handle your younger self? But you could barely handle you."_

_Ha, ha, funny,_ Jaden responded silently.

"Great! Then I guess I'd better start packing," Alexis said.

"So, any idea when you'll be back?" Jaden asked out of curiosity.

"It shouldn't be too long. They just need a little help with a stubborn kid. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning and should be back by Friday."

Jaden thought about that. Tomorrow was Monday, so that meant she'd only be gone about five days. "Okay."

"Leo!" Luna called from somewhere else in the house. "Put that down! That's mine!"

Alexis sighed. "They're at it again."

"I'll handle it," Jaden said. "You go ahead and pack."

"Thanks, hon. Good luck," she said, heading for the stairs.

"Leo! What's going on!?" Jaden called as he headed off in the direction of the chaos.


	2. Day One Alone

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.**

* * *

The next morning, Alexis called a taxi to take her to the pier, where she would hop on a boat to Duel Academy.

"You sure you'll be okay, hon?" she asked Jaden one more time. "I could always send the kids to Atticus' place. We both know Reggie can handle them."

"I'm sure, Lex!" he told her, smiling. "Don't worry so much! We'll be fine."

_"__Yeah. Besides, I'm good at babysitting Jadens, at least," _Yubel teased him. _"Look how well behaved mine is."_

"Uh, Dad?" Luna asked, being the only other one that could see and hear the rude spirit. "What's she talking about?"

"Here they go again," Leo muttered.

"Quite the comedian, aren't you, Yubel?" Jaden asked.

"Yubel again? Dad!" Leo said, rolling his eyes.

Alexis was quiet a moment, smiling, before saying, "Well, anyway, kids, Mommy has to leave now. Be good for Daddy, okay?"

"Okay!" they said together.

Alexis kissed them both on the foreheads. "Take care, sweethearts. Mommy loves you." To Jaden, she said, "Now I left you a list of things to do so you don't forget them. And don't forget to call me if you have any trouble, okay, hon?"

"Don't worry, Alexis. I've got it," he assured her.

"I'm sure you do. Take care, my love. Good luck."

"You, too," he said, and they kissed each other goodbye.

"Eww, gross!" Leo exclaimed.

Alexis smiled and got in the taxi. "Bye, guys! Take care! Don't destroy the house while I'm gone!" she said as it drove off.

"Bye, Mom! Don't worry! We won't!" Leo said, waving.

"Bye, Mommy! See you later!"

_"__Good,"_ Yubel said. _"She's gone. Now you can call in the cavalry."_

"I already told _her,_ I've got this! I don't _need_ 'cavalry.'"

"Hey, Dad," Leo said, tugging on his pant leg. "Let's play cops and robbers! I'll be the cop."

"But I wanted to play house!" Luna protested.

"We're playing cops and robbers!"

"I don't want to! That game's no fun!"

"No! Playing house is no fun! That game's for girls!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

As the two continued their argument, Yubel asked, _"Hmm. You sure?"_

"Alright, alright, settle down!" Jaden said. "How about we take turns? Play one for awhile, then the other?"

"I wanna go first, okay?" Leo said.

"That's not fair!" Luna whined. "You always go first!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"We'll flip a coin!" Jaden said, pulling a quarter out of his pocket. "Heads, we play house first; tails, cops and robbers."

"Okay!" the twins said.

Jaden flipped the coin, and it came up heads.

"Yes! I get to go first!" Luna cheered.

"That's not fair!" Leo protested. "Heads _always_ pops up! I say best two out of three."

"Stop being a sore loser, Leo," his sister said. "I won fair and square."

"That's because you had heads! Let's do it again! But _I_ want heads this time!"

"We don't have to flip it again! Dad said only one coin toss!"

"But you had heads!"

The two growled at each other.

"Leo!" Jaden said sternly. "There was just as much chance of tails coming up as there was heads. It's fair. We're playing house now, then cops and robbers. Or do you two wanna spend the whole day arguing?"

"I say it's fair!" Luna said, having not heard her dad.

"That's 'cause you're a cheater!"

"Take that back, Leo!"

"Make me!"

_"__Still think you've got this?"_ Yubel taunted, grinning.

Jaden pulled the two apart, saying, "That's enough! Leo, Luna won fair and square. We play her game first. But, if you both don't cut it out right now, you're both getting a time out!"

The twins both crossed their arms and pouted, saying, "Fine."

Yubel was still grinning, inspiring Jaden to ignore her.

"Okay. So, Luna, you won, so we're playing your game," he said. "We'll switch in an hour. Okay?"

"Okay!" Luna said happily at the same time Leo said, "Fine..."

_"__He's gonna regret his stupidity."_

Winged Kuriboh nodded in agreement, concerned.

* * *

Later, Jaden walked into the kitchen and saw something that stopped him dead in his tracks—there was paint on the wall. Not just the light orange paint that he and Alexis had chosen for the kitchen wall, either. A pink star, blue dinosaur, green river, and purple flower...scattered randomly within three feet of wall space. Neither of the kids were around.

"...Leo! Luna!"

"I didn't do it!" he heard their voices from elsewhere in the house.

"Then who did!?" he demanded.

_"__Oh, probably the cat," _Yubel said. _"Even though she's outside."_

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Leo called from the hallway.

"What happened!?" Luna called from the living room.

"Why don't you two come here and take a look!" Jaden answered.

"But I didn't do it!" Leo said.

"I think Ashley was in there, whatever it is!" Luna called, confirming Yubel's suspicions that they would blame the family cat.

Jaden rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because she _totally _painted on the wall! And Banner was raiding the fridge!"

"Banner!?" Leo called, confused. "You mean Pharaoh, don't you!?"

Leo never knew if his dad called his cat Banner or Pharaoh. The fact that he didn't believe in spirits meant that he no longer believed Pharaoh's old owner was living on inside of his cat as a ghost.

"Well, maybe she got bored!" Luna suggested.

"Cats don't paint, Luna!"

"So!?" she called. "It wasn't me, either!"

"It's not me! I don't even like blue!" Leo called. He didn't seem to realize that confirmed he was lying about not knowing about it.

Jaden groaned. "Well, it was either one of you or some mischievous spirit." _Though I honestly think it was _both_ of you... Dinosaurs and flowers, pink and blue—that's usually both of 'em._

"I vote for mischievous spirit!" Leo called, even though he claimed not to believe in spirits. "Now can you please stop screaming!? I'm trying to play football!"

"Yeah!" Luna agreed with her brother. "We both know who Banner really is! I bet he drew that pink star!"

"Wait, you're not supposed to be playing football in the house, Leo!" Jaden called. "And, Luna, Banner can't _hold_ a paintbrush, let alone _use_ one."

_"__Hmm. I think Syrus may be home right now,"_ Yubel teased.

"Oh, put a sock in it, would you?"

A crash from the hallway drew Jaden's attention from the ruined wall. He ran toward the sound.

"I didn't do it!" he heard Leo say as he turned the corner to see the broken vase.

* * *

"But I don't _want_ fish for dinner!" Leo complained, staring at the plate in front of him. "I want ice cream!"

"That's a dessert, stupid," Luna said.

"Dad! Luna called me stupid!"

"Luna, don't call your brother names," Jaden said. "Leo, eat your dinner."

"But I don't want it!"

"Then you aren't getting dessert."

"Uh, Dad? What _is_ for dessert?" Luna asked.

"That's a surprise," he answered, knowing full well that Leo would more likely eat if he didn't know whether he would miss his favorite dessert.

"But I _hate_ fish!" Leo whined. "At least get me something else!"

"Would you grow up already?" Luna said, eating her dinner. "You're acting like a big baby."

"Dad! Luna called me a baby!"

_Must be nice to have a peaceful dinner... Not that I would know,_ Jaden thought, irritated. "Luna, what did I say about calling your brother names? And, Leo, you're eating what's on your plate!"

Luna crossed her arms with a humph. "Tattletale," she muttered.

Leo stuck his tongue out at her. Luna returned the gesture, then they growled at each other before humphing and turning away from each other, arms crossed and noses in the air.

_"__You know, Chazz is pretty good at dealing with civil disobedience. Maybe you should give him a call,"_ Yubel said, grinning.

"Cut it out, Yubel," Jaden muttered.

* * *

"But I don't wanna get a bath!" Leo protested. "I like being dirty!"

It was bath time, and Jaden was in the upstairs hallway in front of the bathroom, trying to get Leo to get a bath. He hadn't realized it was this difficult.

"I don't care, Leo! You're getting a bath, whether you like it or not!" Jaden told him.

Luna stood in her bedroom doorway, already wearing a nightgown. "Yeah, Leo," she said. "You heard Dad. You stink. Get a bath."

Leo dropped onto the floor, flailing around and screaming, "I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna!"

Jaden picked him up, ignoring the flailing limbs. Leo fought him tooth and nail as he dragged him into the bathroom, complaining the whole way.

"Let me go, let me go! I don't want a bath! I don't!"

After quite a bit of wrestling, which inflicted multiple bruises on Jaden's person, he got his son in the tub. Leo pouted, his arms crossed.

_"__Atticus can make bath time fun," _Yubel said. _"You sure you don't want to—"_

_Pipe down, already! _he snapped, his patience already wearing thin.

_"__Whatever. It's your funeral, Black and Blue Boy."_

Still sitting in the tub pouting, Leo said, "I'm not getting a bath."

"Oh, yes, you are," Jaden said, grabbing the soap and a sponge. _If he's gonna act like a baby, he's gonna get treated like a baby._

"Hey! Quit that!" Leo said, dodging the sponge.

"Hold still!" Jaden said, grabbing his son.

"Let me go, let me go!" he protested, flailing around again.

Jaden sure as heck wasn't giving up—he had gotten that kid in the tub, so he was getting him clean if it killed him.

* * *

An hour later, Leo stood in the bathroom wrapped in a towel, pouting.

"There," Jaden said. "And, look, it didn't kill you, did it?"

He humphed in response.

Jaden glanced at his watch. 7:45 meant it was just about time for the kids to go to bed.

"Now, let's get you ready for bed, Leo."

"But—" he started.

"Leonard Yuki!" Jaden said, hands on hips.

"Okay...," Leo said, pouting.

"Good. Now, go get ready for bed."

"Fine," the boy said, heading to his room.

Yubel watched him go. _"Hmm. I don't think this is over yet, do you?"_

"Not even close," Jaden said, shaking his head.

* * *

Ten minutes later, both the kids were running around the house.

"You can't catch me, you can't catch me!" Luna chanted.

"Nah, nah! Can't catch me!" Leo called as well, running alongside his sister.

"Come on, you two!" Jaden called as he chased after them.

"Hurry, Leo! He's gaining on us!"

"Then I guess we'll just have to split up!"

"Right! I'll go left! You go right!"

"Good idea! Glad I thought of it! See you later, sis! Good luck!"

As they reached an intersection in the hallway, Luna took the left, heading for the kitchen, while Leo headed off to the right. Jaden stopped in the middle, debating which one to chase after.

"...Okay, Luna's heading toward Pharaoh," he reasoned, remembering that Pharaoh had headed that way earlier, "and Banner can handle her from there. Leo!" he called, running after his son.

* * *

Some time later, he had them both in their room, bouncing on their beds.

"We're not sleepy, we're not sleepy!" Leo said.

"Yeah!" Luna agreed. "We wanna stay up _all_ night and play!"

_How do you get kids to fall asleep!?_ Jaden screamed silently.

_"__You call some backup," _Yubel said.

"All night, Luna?" Jaden said as an idea hit him. "So you're not tired at all? Not even a little?"

"Nope!" she said, shaking her head.

"Not...really...," Leo said, slowing in his bouncing. He yawned and stopped bouncing completely.

"Are you sure, you guys? I mean, staying up _all_ night is pretty hard. You sure you don't wanna take a little nap?"

"Well, maybe just a...little one...," Leo said with another yawn as he sat down cross-legged on his bed.

"But I'm not tired! Honest!" Luna insisted.

"So you're gonna stay up all night, then, Luna?"

She blinked slowly, her bouncing slowing to a stop. "Of course..."

"Well, if you're sure you really want to stay up all night and you won't get tired..."

Leo yawned. Luna did, too, sitting down.

"Uh-huh...," she said.

Jaden smiled. "Are you sure you're not tired?"

"Well, maybe a little...," she admitted.

"Yeah..." Leo yawned. "What she said..."

"Well, then, maybe you should take a little nap, huh?"

"Okay. Sounds good," Leo said, crawling into bed.

"Yep," Luna said, following her brother's lead.

_"__Way to go. You actually got them into bed,"_ Yubel said with a grin.

Jaden walked over and tucked them into bed, kissing them both goodnight. When they closed their eyes, he turned to leave.

"Daddy?" he heard Luna ask when he reached the doorway. "You gonna read us a story? Please?"

He turned back, smiling. "Sure, Luna. So, which one do you want to hear?"

"How about one with a beautiful princess who falls in love with a handsome prince?"

"No," Leo said. "That's too girly. Why not one where a brave hero saves the world from danger?"

"That's no bedtime story, Leo. That's a comic book," Luna said.

"So? Comic books can be bedtime stories, too, you know?"

_"__May I propose a compromise?"_ Yubel said, a lame look on her face. _"Like maybe a brave knight saving a princess and becoming king?"_

"I know just the thing," Jaden said, sitting down on the edge of Luna's bed.

* * *

"That was a great story, Daddy," Luna said when he had finished. "Thanks for telling it to us."

"Yeah!" Leo said. "I especially liked the part where the guy slay the dragon with one swing of his sword!" He pretended to swing a sword as he spoke. "I wish I could be a hero like that!"

"Well, maybe someday, you can," Jaden said. "But, right now, it's time to go to sleep."

"Okay, Daddy! Good night! I love you!" Luna said.

"Night, Dad!" Leo said.

"I love you, too. Night, kids."

He headed out of the room, turning out the light and closing the door.

_"__So, how was your first day as a stay-at-home dad?"_ Yubel teased before laughing through her lips.

"Are you gonna do that all week?"

_"__Why not? _They're_ gonna do _that_ all week."_ She laughed again.

"Yeah, well... Ugh..."

He decided to let Yubel have that one, intending to get some ice on a particularly nasty bruise on his side. Wrestling with Leo seemed a rather dangerous thing to do.


	3. Grocery Day

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! These last two weeks have been pretty crazy. Anyway, enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.**

* * *

That night, Alexis called to check on things.

"Hi, hon!" she said. "How is everything? Is the house still standing?"

While most people would ask that as a joke, she seemed somewhat serious.

"Everything's fine," Jaden answered. "The house is still standing, and the kids are asleep."

"That's good. And here I thought they'd be too much for you to handle. I should have known. Nothing's too tough for the great Jaden Yuki, right?" she teased lightly.

He grinned and said, "You got it, Lex! Don't worry about us. We'll be fine."

"That's good to hear. I hope you're right. Well, I've gotta go. I'll call you soon, okay? Bye, hon. I love you."

"I love you, too," he said. "Bye."

As he hung up the phone, Yubel stood beside him, grinning. _"You lied."_

"I did not," he said stubbornly. "I can handle them."

_"__Ha! At this rate, Leo's gonna have you eating out of the palm of his hand by the end of the week."_

"He will not."

_"__Wanna bet, Blue Boy?"_ she said in reference to the beating he had taken getting his son into the tub.

"Oh, cut it out."

She just snickered.

* * *

Tuesday was more of the same. Leo ran around like a wild child, causing trouble, and Luna complained about everything he was doing. Including breathing. Apparently he did it too loud and it was annoying. He also spent a great deal of time teasing Luna for being able to see spirits, and the two fought over just about everything. When it came down to bath time, Jaden had to wrestle his son into the tub again, and then began the chase to get them both into bed, followed by talking them into sleeping rather than staying up all night long.

Wednesday was grocery day, which came with its own set of challenges.

"Sweet!" Leo cheered when Jaden told them they had to go grocery shopping. "I love grocery day! I want tons of candy, okay?"

"And ice cream!" Luna said. "And popcorn! And—"

"We're not buying a whole bunch of junk food," Jaden cut her off. "You can each pick one thing, okay?"

In unison, they pouted and said, "Okay..."

_"__I can't even begin to watch this one,"_ Yubel said. _"Let me know when the cops are done with you." _With that established, she disappeared from sight.

_Ha, ha. Funny,_ Jaden told her sarcastically.

_"__I'm serious," _she said in his head.

"I get to ride in the front seat!" Leo declared.

"No fair!" Luna protested, just as Jaden knew she would. "You were in front last time!"

"Was not!"

"Was, too!"

"Was not!"

"Was, too!"

"Was not!"

_And they're at it again, folks!_ Jaden sighed. "You're both in the back seat."

"But Mom always lets us ride up front!" Leo countered. "That's no fair!"

"I don't _want_ to ride in the back with him! He's not nice!"

"Am, too!" Leo protested.

"Are not!"

"Am, too!"

"Are not!"

Suddenly it was making more sense to Jaden why one of them would be sitting up front.

"Alright!" he exclaimed. Sighing, he said, "Leo. You're up front." _That way I can keep an eye on you._

"But, Daddy!" Luna whined. "That's no fair!"

"You get to ride up front on the way home, Luna."

"But—"

"Ha!" Leo laughed.

"Get in the car, you two," Jaden said.

Luna sighed. "Okay..."

The two got in the car, Leo in front and Luna in back. Reluctantly, thinking it would be easiest to just leave them both out here and run for his life, Jaden climbed into the driver's seat.

_"__I kinda think calling Jesse might not be such a bad idea," _Yubel said as he started the car. _"What about you?"_

_Why? Because I can't handle my own kids?_

_"__Exactly. They're _your_ kids, after all,"_ she said with a grin.

_I've got this,_ Jaden insisted, pulling out of the garage.

_"__Yeah, sure you do. 'No, officer. It's just my kids fighting again. Please don't call the SWAT team.'"_

_Cut it out! They're not that bad!_

_"__Leo is."_

_Just cut it out already! You're as bad as them!_

_"__And you still don't need backup,"_ Yubel said, grinning as if she had just won the battle.

"Okay, Dad!" Leo said as they drove down the street. "Let's rock out!" He reached for the radio dial.

"No!" Luna protested. "I hate rock music!"

"Too bad!" Leo said smugly. "You know the rules! Whoever's up front gets to choose the tunes!"

"You stole my seat, anyway. So _I_ should get to choose the music."

"That's not how it works! And I didn't steal anything!"

"You stole my turn! _I'm_ supposed to be up there this time!" she said, leaning forward.

"That's not what Dad said!" He looked at Jaden and asked, "Right, Dad?"

"But—"

_But, but, but! Can't she say anything else!? Do these kids do anything _besides_ fight with each other day and night!? WHY COULDN'T WE HAVE ONLY HAD ONE!?_

Barely containing his irritation, Jaden said, "Here's an idea. Let's play a game. It's called 'The Quiet Game.' Whoever makes the least amount of noise on the way to the store wins."

"But I hate that game!" Leo whined.

"Okay," Luna said, getting the message.

Those two simple responses told Jaden which one he wished had been born rather than both of them at the same time.

His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he said, "Leo... What if I told you the winner gets ice cream?"

"Ice cream!?" the boy exclaimed. "Really!? Oh, I'm definitely gonna win! Heck, I'll take a nap, even! Then I'm guaranteed to win!"

"Not really, you snore," Luna said. "So, if you take a nap, then I win."

"I don't snore!" Leo said, turning to glare at his sister.

"Do, too."

"Do not!"

Do, too!"

"Game starts now!" Jaden snapped.

"Okay!" Leo said, followed by absolute silence. Well, except for the rock music that Leo had indeed turned on.

_Finally, some peace and quiet,_ Jaden thought.

_"__You're not gonna make it, you're not gonna make it,"_ Yubel sang tauntingly.

_You shut up, too,_ he silently commanded.

* * *

When they got to the store, Jaden got the things on the list Alexis had left before taking the kids to pick out one thing each.

"I want this, and this, and this!" Leo said, grabbing several things all at once—a bag of marshmallows, some candy, and a huge chocolate bar.

"I-I don't know! I can't decide! Can I at least get two things?" Luna asked, giving him her cutest face. "Please?"

Jaden, leaning on the handle of the cart, held up one finger and said, "One each. That's the rule."

"But, Dad!" they both complained.

"No buts!"

A man with teal hair had been walking past that aisle with his ten-year-old son when he heard that, and he stopped to make sure that was actually who he thought it was. Sure enough, it was Jaden and the twins.

"Hey, Jay! How ya doin'?" he asked, walking over with his gray-eyed, carrot-top son.

Jaden turned to find his _own_ "twin." "Oh, hey, Jesse," he said.

"Well, this is a surprise," Jesse said. "I never expected to see y'all here." To the kids, he said, "Howdy, Leo. Luna. How ya been?"

"Uncle Jesse!" the two said. "Hey!" Leo said as Luna said, "Hi!"

They ran over and hugged him, and he laughed.

"My, ya guys have gotten so big!" he said. "So, how old are ya now? Last time I saw ya, you were five years old. Though I reckon that ain't the case now, right?"

It never ceased to amaze Jaden just how good Jesse was with kids, especially considering these were _his_ kids.

"Nope!" Leo said proudly, puffing his chest out slightly. "I'm a big boy now! I'm six years old! Heck, I'm practically all grown up now!" He laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I see!" Jesse said as if he really thought he was that mature. "And I see yer growin' into a lovely young lady, too." He looked at Luna as he said this.

Luna blushed at the compliment. "Uh, t-thank you, Uncle Jesse. That's nice of you to say that," she said with a curtsy.

"And so well-mannered, too." He turned back to Jaden and said, "They're quite a couple of cuties, right, buddy?"

"Yeah, they sure are," Jaden answered. _Cutest when they're sleeping._

"So, what brings ya out to this neck of the woods? Out huntin' fer yer next meal? And why's it you, partner? It's usually the lady?"

"Our mom had to go away for the week, so Daddy's taking care of us," Luna answered.

"Really, Jay?" Jesse asked. "Why's that?"

As their fathers talked, the three kids started catching up, too.

"Something came up at Duel Academy. They're having trouble with one of the students there in summer school, and Sheppard called her in for help."

_"__Jaden!"_ Yubel exclaimed. _"Tell him how crazy they're making you! He's got Crow, stupid! He can help you for sure! Do it!"_

"Huh. That's odd," Jesse said. "Wonder what's up?" He shrugged it off, saying, "Well, anyway. Nice seeing ya, pal! Come on, Crow! We still gotta pick up Ma's allergy medicine!"

"Coming, Dad!" Crow said.

"Catch ya later, Jay!" Jesse said, walking off with Crow.

"See ya, Jess!" Jaden called after him.

"Man," Leo said. "That Crow's so cool! I wanna be just like him when I grow up!"

"Yeah! And he's always so nice, too!" Luna agreed.

As they kept talking about how great Crow was, Jaden thought, _Well, there's one thing they agree on—they love Crow._

_"__Seriously, Jaden?"_ Yubel asked. _"Why didn't you ask him for help? He actually knows what he's doing."_

_I don't need help! I've got this! _he snapped.

_"__Temper, temper. Jaden. You're losing it."_

"Okay! I'll take this one!" Leo said, finally grabbing only one thing—a bag of potato chips.

"And I'll take Crow's advice and buy this one, too," Luna said, going for a bag of gummy bears.

"Great," Jaden said, glad that was settled. "Then let's go."

"Hmm. Maybe not," Leo said, having second thoughts again. "Maybe I'll get—"

Jaden gritted his teeth—they'd been doing this for twenty minutes already. "What you've picked is what you're getting. Now let's go."

"Okay...," Leo whined.

Muttering, Luna said, "Whiner."

"Dad! Luna called me—"

"Then stop whining," Jaden cut him off sharply.

Leo pouted and humphed.

_"__Call some help, already!"_

"Oh, shut _up,_ already!" Jaden said loudly, his eyes on the ceiling.

"Uh, Dad?" Leo asked.

Jaden blinked. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Leo nodded and pointed at some other shoppers, who were staring. Luna put a hand to her face, sweating.

Jaden glanced at his audience, sweating slightly. "Let's just get out of here."

"Good call."

As they headed to the checkout, Jaden heard Leo mutter something that sounded distinctly like, "Weirdo..."

* * *

"No buts, Leo," Luna said as they stood in the parking lot, again fighting over the front seat. "Dad said I get the front on the way home. Remember?"

"But you're always in the front when Mom drives!" Leo complained.

"Am not."

_Oh, no, not again..._

Sure enough, Leo responded with, "Are, too!"

"Luna's up front, Leo!" Jaden snapped, cutting the argument short. "Get in the back."

"But—"

"No buts!" he snapped. _Seriously, but, but, but, but, but! They need to learn some other words!_

"Fine," Leo said, climbing into the back seat.

Luna looked at Jaden and asked, "Daddy? You okay?"

"I'm fine," he said tiredly. "Just get in the car, Luna."

"Okay," she said, and she also climbed into the car.

_Now if only I can keep them quiet for the fifteen year long drive home..._

Yubel opened her mouth to speak, noting the exaggeration of how long it would take to get home, but Jaden wasn't having any of it.

_Save it,_ he told her before she could say anything.


	4. Patience Totally Gone

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.**

* * *

When they got home (after stopping at an ice cream shop briefly to buy an ice cream for Luna, the winner of The Quiet Game), it was business as usual. No sooner had Jaden put the apple juice in the fridge than Leo wanted it. And no sooner had he left the kitchen than Jaden heard the telltale "oops" and clatter that told of juice stains in the carpet.

"Sorry," Leo said as he watched his dad clean up the mess.

"It's fine," Jaden told him, thinking that they should invest in hardwood floors. "It was an accident, right?"

"R-right!" Leo agreed, relieved.

Luna humphed. "Leo, you're such a klutz."

"Don't start, Luna," Jaden warned.

As the twins ran off to play, the phone rang. Jaden picked it up.

"Hey, bro!" Syrus's voice came over the line. "What's happening?"

"Oh, hey, Syrus. Not much. What's up?"

"That's mean, Leo!" Luna said in the background.

"Well, it's true!" Leo countered.

"Ah, not much," Syrus answered, unable to hear the kids over the phone. "Chazz is back in town, though. I'm sure he's here to challenge you to a duel, Jay."

"Really? Well, he's gonna have to wait until at least Saturday. Hold on." Jaden covered the mouthpiece and called to his kids, "Leo! What's going on?"

"Nothing, Dad!" he answered.

"Really? And why's that?" Syrus asked.

Jaden answered, "Alexis is out of town, so I'm taking care of the kids."

"Wha!? By yourself!? Have you ever done that before!? Do you have any idea how hard that is to do?"

Jaden was about to tell Syrus he could handle it, but then Luna screamed, "Get back here, you big jerk!"

"You just said the J word! I'm telling!"

"Go ahead! Then I'll tell Dad what you said, too!"

"Hold on, Sy," Jaden said, the urge to rip his hair out growing ever stronger. He covered the mouthpiece again. "You two! Get in here!"

Leo and Luna walked into the room, Leo looking nervous.

"Yeah, Dad?" he asked.

Jaden set the phone down on the table. Crossing his arms, he looked at his son sternly and said, "What's going on? Tell me the truth."

"Uh... You feeling okay, Dad?" Leo asked, evading the question.

"What's going on, Leonard?"

Leo cleared the lump out of his throat, then stuttered, "L-Luna was talking to nothing again? So I told her she was insane? But I meant she needed to see a doctor! I wasn't being mean on purpose! And she called me a jerk, too!"

The first thing Jaden wanted to know was where that kid had learned the word insane. The second thing he wanted to know was why. Why did this have to be a daily occurrence? Why did Leo have to keep doing this? Why couldn't he have been born mute?

"She's not insane!" Jaden snapped. "Spirits are real, and your sister was talking to one of them. It's not fair to say that she's insane just because she can see something that you can't."

"But Dad! They're not real!" Leo insisted.

"They are too real! Right, Dad?" Luna looked to Jaden for support.

"Leo, just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't real. There are a lot of things that you can't see, but they're still there." Jaden paused, trying to think of something he could use as an example. His brain was fried; it was no use. He used the only thing he could think of right then. "Like right now. Can you see the stars outside?"

"N-no," Leo answered.

"Hello?" came Syrus's voice from the phone.

"So does that mean they aren't real?"

"N-no. But you can see them at night! That doesn't count, Dad!"

_...Darn, he's right,_ Jaden thought. _Okay, uh, what _can't_ you see ever? Oh, forget it! I'm just gonna keep going with this one!_

"Sure it does. Maybe these spirits _could_ show themselves to you, but they just don't want to," he improvised. "Maybe it takes a lot of energy for them to show up for you, and they just don't have that much energy. Maybe, in the right time and place, you could see them, too."

Not a total lie—after all, if Leo went to Dark World, he'd see duel spirits. Oh, he'd see duel spirits.

"But—" the boy started.

"May I say something?" Syrus asked.

Jaden picked up the phone. "Sure, go ahead," he said.

"Try air. Temperature. The layers of the atmosphere. They're all invisible, but we already know they're there." Silently, he added, _Honestly, Jaden, you can be so slow sometimes._

"Thanks," Jaden said to Syrus. Turning back to Leo, he asked, "What about air? Can you see the air, Leo?"

"No," Leo said.

"But it's there, isn't it?"

"Yes?"

"Exactly," Jaden said, crouching down in front of the boy. "See, that's how spirits are, too. You may not be able to see them, but that doesn't mean they don't exist."

"I guess you're right," Leo admitted. He turned to Luna and said, "Sorry, Luna. I guess you're not crazy after all."

"Apology accepted," Luna said, which was the final straw that made Jaden believe that his kids were reading the dictionary.

"So, Leo, you aren't going to call your sister crazy for talking to spirits anymore, right?" he asked as he stood back up, shrugging off all the big words his six-year-old kids used.

"No, Dad."

"Good. And, Luna, what have I told you about calling people names?"

"Not to do it."

"Then apologize for calling your brother a jerk."

"Sorry I called you a jerk, Leo," she said.

"Good. Now, run along and play, you two," Jaden said, waving them out of the room.

"Okay!" they said before running off.

"Let me guess," Syrus was saying as Jaden put the phone back up to his ear. "They're driving you nuts, right?"

"Of course not. Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Come on, Jay. You can't fool me. You sounded just like Alexis just now."

"Okay, fine, they're a little tough to handle, but I've got this!" he insisted yet again.

"Are you sure? It's okay to admit if you need a little help there, bro. No one's an expert the first time, you know? Well, other than Jesse, that is. I don't know how he did it. Do you?"

"It's only for two more days," Jaden said, ignoring the little tangent about Jesse. "I can handle it."

"I sure hope so," Syrus said. "Feel free to call me, though, if you need any advice, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Jaden answered. "Thanks, bro."

A loud bang was heard from somewhere in the house.

"I gotta go!" Jaden said.

"Right!" Syrus answered, his tone indicating that he'd heard that on his end, too. "Good luck, bro! I'll call you some other time, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, bye."

He hastily hung up the phone, then ran off to see what had broken or who had been shot.

* * *

The TV. It was the TV. Leo had broken the TV. But that was okay because they needed a new one anyway! Maybe if Jaden kept telling himself that, he might actually start believing it. Then maybe he could find some way to convince Alexis that it was true so that she wouldn't kill him. Nah, he'd have better luck proving that aliens had replaced their children with some creatures meant to destroy humanity. Well, regardless, the TV was broken. No biggie. At least nobody was hurt. Well, not yet. Jaden was sure he'd be dead when Alexis got back.

He spent the better part of the afternoon trying to think of ways to get out of trouble with her. Then came his favorite time of the day—bath time.

Leo hid in a closet in the upstairs hallway, locking himself in.

"Leo, come on!" Jaden said, exasperated, as he tugged on the doorknob. "This is ridiculous! Just get in the freaking tub already!"

"Make me!"

"You mean for the third night in a row?"

"Yeah! You might have won then, but not tonight! I blocked the door this time!" This was followed by a sound that distinctly sounded like a raspberry.

"Well, you have to come out eventually," Jaden said. "I mean, aren't you going to get hungry in there?"

"That's why I've got my snack from earlier," Leo answered smugly.

"Get out here, Leo," Jaden said, his patience gone.

"Why don't you come in and get me? If you can, that is." Again, Jaden heard a raspberry.

_"__He's asking for it,"_ Yubel said. _"I've got more powers than just Nightmare Pain, you know. He keeps this up, and I say we rip that door clean off its hinges!"_

If he'd had even an ounce of patience left, Jaden might have seen the flaw with that plan. As it was, he didn't even hesitate before activating his powers to increase his strength and open that darned door.

Leo heard his dad trying to open the door and laughed. "Ha! Like that's gonna—huh!?"

Cracking sounds were coming from the door. Leo stood up, stunned.

"D-Dad?"

Luna poked her head out of her bedroom, hearing trouble, and stared. The door snapped off its hinged, and Leo saw his dad standing there holding the doorknob. He was spooked for two reasons: 1) He didn't know his dad was that strong. 2) His dad's eyes were two colors, and neither were his real eye color. His left eye was green, and the right was orange.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, kiddo," Jaden said, setting the door down beside the new hole in the wall. "Now, let's go get that bath."

Those eyes... They were creepy. Definitely creepy. Leo gasped, looking scared. "W-what?"

Jaden powered down, and his eyes returned to their natural brown.

"D-Dad? W-what was t-that?" Leo stammered.

From their bedroom doorway, a stunned Luna asked, "Dad? Why did your eyes look like Yubel's?"

Jaden sighed. "It's a long story."

"I'm in real trouble, aren't I?" Leo asked quietly.

"What did you _do_, Leo?" Luna asked, stunned that even _her_ brother could make their dad that mad.

"Just go get your bath, Leo," Jaden said.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Leo said with a salute before running off to the bathroom.

Luna looked at her father and asked, "Dad? Do all adults get duel monster eyes when they get real mad?"

"No. That's just me," he answered. "And it's not even when I'm mad, honestly."

"Really? Then how come I've never seen it before?"

"Because...my eyes change when I'm using Yubel's power."

"Huh? How'd you learn to do that?"

Jaden was starting to wish he hadn't done that in front of them—they knew very little about his relationship with Yubel. That would have been awkward to try to explain to small children, after all. Heck, it would be awkward to explain to anyone.

"Okay, you remember when your mom and I told you about going to another dimension when we were in school, and how duel monsters were real there?" he asked.

"Yes. I think I've been, by the way."

Jaden jumped, startled. "...What?"

"Well, sometimes, when I'm playing alone, I wind up falling asleep and traveling to another world full of duel monsters. But they're all friendly. They like me a lot, too. And Kuribon's always there with me. It's kinda cool."

What she was describing did sound cool, and Jaden was wondering why he couldn't have wound up in that world. "If it's the same world, it's a totally different place now...," he said, stunned. He shook his head and got back on track. "Anyway, the reason we were there is because Yubel was...mad at me. So she sent us there so that she could...get back at me."

The more he tried to explain this in a way that was appropriate for little kids, the more he remembered why he and Alexis had decided that they should wait until they were older. Or, better yet, never tell them.

"That's not nice," Luna said. "If she was mad at you, why didn't she just tell someone about it?"

"It's hard to explain. I'll tell you when you're older. The point is, I used a Duel Monsters card, a kind of Polymerization, to fuse Yubel with me. So, Yubel is a part of me now."

Luna just stared at him for a moment, and Jaden was waiting for her to call his bluff. "But isn't Yubel a girl?" she asked instead.

_"__I love kids,"_ Yubel said in Jaden's head. _"So naïve."_

Jaden sweat—he knew where this was going. "...Yes. Yubel is a girl."

She stared at him for another moment before she burst out laughing.

_"__You see what I mean?"_ Yubel asked, gesturing to the girl.

"So that means my dad's a mom, too! That's funny!" Luna laughed.

"I guess you could say that. Except that Yubel is still Yubel, and I'm still me. That fusion didn't work the way most do. It basically just lets me use her powers," Jaden said, trying to crush that thought before it was allowed to grow.

Luna tried to stop laughing, saying, "O-okay. If you say so. So does that mean I have two moms, then? Is Yubel my mom, too?"

Jaden had to think about that one for a moment. Finally, he answered, "Uh, no." _I think._

Laughing, Yubel said to Jaden, _"Well, maybe! I mean, I _am_ you, technically, right?"_

Yep, that did it. Jaden officially had a headache.

Leo came running out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. "All clean, sir!"

"Uh, great," Jaden said. "Get ready for bed, buddy."

"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!"

Leo rushed passed Luna into their room. She sighed.

"He's such a chicken sometimes," she said, heading back into their room.

Jaden sweat, staring after his son. "He's gonna have nightmares now, isn't he?"

_"__Probably. He thinks you're gonna kill him, after all."_

Jaden headed into the kids' room to tuck them in and try to reassure Leo that he wasn't going to die during the night.

* * *

Alexis called later that night. "So, you still hanging in there, Jay?" she asked. "'Cause, if you want, I could come home early."

It took every ounce of willpower Jaden had not to beg her to come home that instant, but he somehow managed to say, "I'm fine, Alexis. Don't worry."

_"__Well, _you_ are," _Yubel said. _"But you might want to tell her about Leo, though."_ She laughed a bit.

Jaden sweat.

_"__Then again, didn't that happen because you snapped?"_ she asked before laughing some more.

_Shut up..._

"Jaden? Honey? You still there?" Alexis asked.

He jumped. "Huh? Uh, yeah. Sorry, Alexis. Guess I kinda spaced out there."

"A kid, Yubel, or Winged Kuriboh? What caused it?"

"Yubel."

"And what's she doing now? I know she can drive you crazy sometimes."

_"__Leo. Scary Dad. Luna. Dad/Mom. Get it?"_ she taunted.

Jaden put a hand to his head. "Ugh... The usual."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I better get going, then."

"Okay. See ya soon."

"Yep! See you Friday evening, then! I love you, hon! Bye!"

As he hung up the phone, Jaden thought that Friday evening couldn't come soon enough.

_"__You're gonna have to tell her, you know that, right?"_ Yubel asked. _"I highly doubt she'll take it too well if her kids come up to her and ask, 'Did you know Dad gets all colored-eyed and scary when he's really mad?' or 'Did you know Dad's part mom, too?'"_

He thought about that, realizing that the broken TV would be the least of his problems once she found what had happened with the upstairs closet and the kids.

"Crap," he muttered.


	5. Another Crazy Day

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Also, "Human or Monster" should be updated sometime later this week (with luck), and I'm starting a new story soon since this one's almost done (I think this has like two or three chapters left). Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.**

* * *

The next day, Luna called Jaden out to the front yard, saying the cats were up some trees. He followed her outside to see both of the cats in two separate trees. Really? They couldn't get stuck in one together?

"I think they're stuck, Daddy," Luna said, pointing at Pharaoh and the calico named Ashley.

Pharaoh yawned and fell asleep.

Jaden sweat. "And, clearly, Pharaoh doesn't care... Alright, I'll get them down."

"Careful, Daddy," Luna warned. "Ashley looks really scared. She might attack you or something."

"Don't worry. I'll handle it," he said, climbing the tree Pharaoh was in.

"Go, Daddy!" Luna cheered. "You can do it! You're special, after all! You guys can do anything together!"

Jaden had this nasty feeling that he would never live down the Yubel fusion as long as his daughter was alive. Well, at least Leo didn't know about it.

Pharaoh didn't like being woken up, so he scratched Jaden across the face when the man picked him up. Once he had that cat back on the ground, he leaped out of his arms and ran off. The situation with Ashley was similar, except she was clawing at him the whole way down, leaving long scratches on his arms and chest. The moment his feet touched the ground, he let go of that squirming cat, and she ran off as well.

"You okay, Daddy?" Luna asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he answered. "Don't worry, honey."

Satisfied, she smiled and said, "Thanks, Daddy. You're the best!"

Jaden smiled, saying, "Eh, no biggie!"

The sound of glass shattering wiped the smiles off their faces.

"OH, NO!" they heard Leo cry.

Luna sighed. "Now what did he do?"

Wondering the same thing, Jaden headed off to check it out.

* * *

Leo was sweating buckets as he stood in the backyard with his baseball bat in hand, staring at the hole in the window.

"Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no!" he panicked. "I'm dead meat this time! Dad's gonna have my head for this one!"

He thought about his dad ripping the closet door off its hinges and how his eyes had been the same colors as Yubel's at the time. Then he imagined his dad ripping his head off, Yubel's eyes taking the place of his normal brown.

"Leo?" Jaden asked as he came running around the corner. He looked at the window and sweat. "Oh, boy..."

"It wasn't my fault!" Leo started frantically. "Honest, sir! I—"

"It's okay, Leo. Calm down."

"So, you're not mad at me, then?"

Jaden crouched down in front of the boy and put his hands on his shoulders. "Leo, I know you didn't mean to break the window. I just wish you'd listen when you're told not to play baseball so close to the house." _After all, that's the third window he's broken this week..._ "Don't worry, I'm not mad. Just disappointed."

Leo looked down and said, "Sorry..."

"It's okay," Jaden assured him. "Just be more careful next time, okay?"

"Okay. I promise I'll be more careful."

Jaden smiled. "Great." He stood up and went to clean up the broken glass. "Stay out of the way while I clean that up. And try not to break anything else before I'm done, 'kay?" he teased.

"Uh, right. I'll try not to, Dad." Leo laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

Luna came over just then. Seeing the window, she looked at her brother and said, "Leo, you did not."

"I can explain, sis," he said, sweating.

"Then start explaining, then," Luna said sternly, crossing her arms. She was, honestly, doing a great impression of her mother.

"Well, you see, there was this guy, and..."

As he told his sister some tall tale about how the window had broken, Jaden went to clean up the mess.

* * *

During the course of the day, Leo somehow managed to break two more windows, even though he was farther away from the house this time. He also got a lollipop stuck in Luna's hair and got covered in mud from head to toe while wrestling Pharaoh. Luna, on the other hand, got caught stealing all the cookies from the cookie jar, fell off the swing in the backyard and scraped her leg, and drew a rainbow on the wall. ("Leo helped me.") Then, come bath time, Leo was still protesting. This time, though, he had a picket sign that read, "No more baths."

"No baths! No baths! We need no baths!" the muddy boy chanted as he walked back and forth in front of the bathroom door, holding his sign up in the air. "No baths!"

"Leo!" Luna said. "_I_ need a bath! Get out of my way!"

"No can do, sis!" he said. "I'm sick and tired of getting clean! So I say this here bathroom's off-limits until I don't have to get one!"

"You're impossible sometimes! You know that!?"

"No baths! No baths! We need no baths!"

"Dad! Do something! He's nuts!"

Mud. That's what Jaden saw when he looked at that kid. Mud, mud, mud. Mud on the living room carpet, mud on the kitchen floor, mud on the freaking walls! Everywhere he looked, Leo had been tracking mud since after dinner!

Seeing the muddy boy getting his hallway all dirty, Jaden picked him up, saying, "Leo, I don't need dirty, smelly little boys tracking mud through my house, either. So, if you don't want to take anymore baths, I could get you a dog house."

"Y-you're kidding, right?" he asked nervously. "I-I mean, you wouldn't _really_ do that to me, right? I'm your son, after all."

"Get a bath, Leo."

"Can't we talk about this? I mean, I'm sure there's some sort of—"

"Bath, Leonard," Jaden said sternly.

"Y-yes, sir! Right away, sir!" Leo said, jumping down and running into the bathroom.

With Leo dealt with, Jaden turned to the impossible task of cleaning the muddy house. Fortunately the worst of the dirt was on the hardwood floor of the hallway. Though that didn't change the fact that the living room _carpet_ was muddy.

Jaden sighed.

"So now what, Daddy?" Luna asked. "What are we gonna do about all this mud?"

"I'll get a mop," he said, heading off to the closet—the downstairs one that still had a door on it.

* * *

The hallway was clean soon enough, as was the kitchen floor and walls. The carpet, however...he had no idea what he was doing with it.

As he stood there deliberating on how to get mud stains out of a white carpet, the phone rang.

"Hello?" he asked, picking it up.

"Hey, what's up?" Chazz asked, the smirk he likely had on his face evident in his tone.

"Any idea how to get mud out of carpets?" Jaden asked by way of an answer.

"What kind of a question is that? Just what are you doing, Slacker?"

"Uh, not slacking? I'm cleaning up after a swamp monster."

"A what?"

"Leo was playing in the mud, and he tracked it all through the house," Jaden answered. _In retrospect, I should have made him hose off outside first..._

_"__Oh! Now he has a brain,"_ Yubel remarked. _"Or at least one brain cell."_

"Okay? Doesn't Alexis usually do that?" Chazz asked. "What'd you do now, you loser?"

"She's out of town, so I'm taking care of the kids."

There was a moment of silence before Chazz burst out laughing. "You're kidding! _You're_ alone with kids!? And they're _yours_, even!? Oh, this I _gotta _see! When's Lexie get back?"

"Friday," Jaden answered stiffly.

"That's tomorrow! Then I'd better hurry if I don't want to miss _this_ one! So I think I'll stop by tomorrow morning! See ya then, Slacker!"

He was still snickering when he hung up.

Jaden stared at the phone for a minute, thinking of Chazz coming over the next day and laughing at all the chaos his kids caused, maybe even causing some himself for the fun of it and blaming Leo.

"Great...," he muttered.

_"__Hey, you asked for it,"_ Yubel taunted. _"You're the one who insisted on doing this, after all."_

"Oh, shut up!" Jaden snapped.

Leo appeared in the doorway, dripping wet and in his pajamas. "All clean, sir!"

"Great. Get ready for bed, buddy."

_"__Deja vu," _Yubel said, thinking about how this scene had played out last night.

"Do I _have_ to?" Leo said sweetly. "But I'm not even tired. Please? Can't I stay up just this once? Please?"

"You sure you're not tired?" Jaden asked for the umpteenth time that week.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Leo said, walking off. "Night, Dad."

"Well, _I'm_ not tired," Luna said, walking in. "Can I please help you clean that up? I help Mommy all the time."

"Sure, sweetheart. Why not?" Jaden said, deciding that he could use some help with this and she'd probably fall asleep faster if he just let her do this.

She grabbed a wash rag from the bathroom and found a bottle of carpet cleaner in the downstairs closet (which Jaden wished he had known about earlier). After he sprayed the first muddy spot, Luna scrubbed it with her rag. That is, until she fell asleep on the floor after about an hour. Then Jaden carried her to bed, finished cleaning the house, and headed to bed himself—at 2 a.m.

_"__Now don't you wish you'd had some help earlier? Then maybe you'd have been in bed by now," _Yubel teased, grinning.

"Oh, just shut up," Jaden said with a yawn.

As Jaden climbed into bed, Leo appeared in the doorway with a teddy bear. "Dad?"

"Huh?" He looked over at his son. "What is it, Leo?"

"C-can I sleep with you tonight?" he asked.

_"__Three guesses."_

Figuring that the bad dream his son had was probably his fault anyway, Jaden said, "Sure, Leo. Climb on in."

Leo came over and crawled into the bed, saying, "Thanks, Dad."

"Uh-huh," Jaden said tiredly, lying down and closing his eyes.

"...Dad?" Leo asked.

"What, Leo?"

"Do bad duel monsters live under beds or in closets?" he asked nervously. "And does everyone have one hidden inside them?"

"No, Leo," Jaden assured him. "There aren't any kinds of monsters hidden in your closet or under your bed. And, no, not everyone has one inside them. Just me."

"Oh. Okay, then. Night, Dad."

"Night."

After a few more minutes, Leo asked, "Dad?"

"What?" Jaden moaned.

"Why is there a duel monster inside of you?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"Oh, okay."

"Good night, Leo."

"Okay..."

Jaden was almost asleep when he heard, "Dad?"

He groaned, opening his eyes to look at his son. "What now?"

"Is your monster thingy friendly? You yell at it a lot."

"She's friendly. Though she gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Oh... Okay..."

"Good night, Leo," Jaden said firmly, closing his eyes again.

"Night..." After a moment, he asked, "You sure, Dad?"

_"__Oh, shut that thing up, already!"_ Yubel exclaimed. _"He's gonna give _me_ nightmares!"_

"Go to bed, Leo," Jaden moaned without opening his eyes.

"Okay. Night."

And he _finally_ shut up and went to sleep!

* * *

Seven Leos. Four Lunas. A couple of five-year-old versions of himself. A ten-year-old Supreme King. One twelve-year-old Jack Princeton with his blond hair that was definitely odd considering his dark-haired parents. That's what Jaden had to deal with.

One of the Leos had a marker and was drawing on the walls with one of the Lunas. One of Jaden's younger selves was running around screaming as the young Supreme King chased him throughout the house, marker all over his face. Jack was hitting the TV with a baseball bat. All. At. The. Same. Time.

"AAH! Help me, Dad!" the Jaden being chased by the Supreme King cried.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU!" the Supreme King bellowed. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY _DEARLY_ FOR THAT, BROTHER!"

"No! Please! I'm sorry!" little Jaden said.

"I'm gonna draw a pretty pony!" said the Luna drawing on the wall.

"I'm gonna draw a dinosaur!" said the Leo she was with.

"Stupid TV! Fix already!" Jack said, hitting it again.

Jaden's cell phone floated in the middle of the chaos, Alexis's voice coming out of it. "Say, Jay? You wouldn't mind watching the kids for a couple more years, would you? Great! You're the best! Love you, hon!"

With that, the phone disappeared.

Jaden, meanwhile, was running around like a chicken in a barnyard as he desperately tried to get a handle on the situation.

"Jack, drop that baseball bat! Luna, Leo, stop drawing on the walls! Supreme King, leave your brother alone!"

"Whee!" another Leo said, riding through the room on Pharaoh while wearing a cowboy hat. "Giddy up, kitty!"

"I'm tracking mud!" the second little Jaden said cheerfully, running through the house covered in more mud than Leo had been that night.

"I just got my nose pierced!" one of the Lunas said, walking in with a big gold ring in her nose. "See!?"

Jaden looked around frantically at all the chaos and screamed, pulling his hair out.

His screaming woke Leo, too.

"What!?" Leo demanded, sitting up and looking around frantically. "What's going on!? Dad!?"

_"__You okay, Jaden?"_ Yubel asked.

Jaden, who was sitting up in bed and clutching at the sheets, took some deep breaths before he spoke. "Just a bad dream, Leo. Go back to bed," Jaden answered. To Yubel, he added, _Yeah, Yubel, I'm okay._

"What did you dream about?" Leo asked.

_"__And you wanted to do this alone,"_ Yubel said, grinning.

Jaden ignored her, glancing at the clock. 5 a.m. That meant it was Friday and Alexis would be home in a few more hours.

"Don't worry about it, buddy," Jaden said to Leo. "Just go back to bed."

"Okay... Night..."

_"__I hate to say I told you so, but—Oh, wait, no, I don't."_ Yubel snickered.

_Oh, just shut up!_ Jaden snapped. _You haven't exactly been helping, doing that all the time!_

_"__What am I supposed to do? I tried to get you to bring in reinforcements. It's not _my_ fault you chose to be an idiot."  
_

_CUT IT OUT!_

_"__And _that's_ going to make them behave better? I highly doubt that."_

Jaden's eye twitched as he tried really hard not to snap completely. _Yubel..._

_"__One last thing. I told you so."_ With that, she hid within his mind.

Jaden sat there, shaking from the effort it was taking him not to scream at the top of his lungs and start throwing things, possibly himself, out the window.

_"__Kuri kuri, kuri!"_ Winged Kuriboh suggested, thinking that a hot bath would help him calm down. After all, that was what Alexis did.

Jaden got up and went to take the puffball's advice, knowing there was no way he'd be getting anymore sleep tonight after _that_ dream.

_You know you've got issues when your kids show up in your worst nightmares,_ Jaden thought. _Though what Jack was doing there, I'll never know._


	6. Reinforcements - Help Finally Accepted

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! There should be two more after this. Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.**

* * *

The next morning around nine, the Yukis' neighbors saw a black-haired man slip into the family's yard with a camera. They would have called the police if not for the fact that Jaden was basically unstoppable, so they figured he could handle it. Besides, that was Chazz Princeton, a friend and rival of Jaden Yuki, as well as a professional duelist. Though what the heck he was doing _was_ a good question.

Chazz hid in a bush outside of the living room window and turned on his camera, pointing it toward himself.

"Good morning," he said to the camera. "And welcome to 'Just Another Day in Dweeb Land. Today we follow the tale of the daily life of Jaden Yuki and his two little monsters, Leo and Luna Yuki. The family has been in chaos ever since Mrs. Alexis Yuki abandoned them to go to school for the summer. Let's see just how much now, shall we?"

He aimed the camera at the window, zooming in just as Luna ran through the living room with a pair of scissors in hand, her father chasing behind her. She was screaming and laughing, with Leo cheering her on and holding a stopwatch.

"That's it, sis!" he said. "You can do it! Just a bit further!"

"Luna!" Jaden called.

"Well," Chazz said outside. "It looks like quite the predicament in there, dear viewers. Now let's see if 'Daddy' can get control of the situation."

"That's it!" Leo said, looking at his stopwatch. "You did it, Luna! Way to go! You ran with scissors for ten minutes without getting caught! That's a new record, sis!"

Luna stopped running next to her brother and giggled. "Thanks, Leo. Though, I gotta say, it was tough. He's faster than Mom is."

"GIVE ME THOSE!" Jaden bellowed, snatching the scissors out of her hand. "Ya wanna know why you're not supposed to run with scissors? Because someone could get HURT!"

The kids screamed at his reaction.

"S-s-s-sorry, s-s-sir!" Leo stammered.

"Y-yeah," Luna agreed, trembling slightly. "We'll n-never do it again."

Jaden took in their expressions, then sighed. _Yeah, I probably should call someone..._

Luna screamed again. "Dad! T-there's someone at the w-window!" she said, pointing.

Jaden turned quickly.

Chazz panicked, causing him to throw his camera into the air. He fumbled around to catch it, then ducked out of sight. This whole process only took a couple of seconds.

It was long enough for Jaden to know who it was.

He ran outside, calling, "Chazz!"

Chazz sprung up out of the bush, saying, "Found it!"

Jaden crossed his arms, looking annoyed. "Hey, Chazz. How's it going?"

"Oh! Jaden!" Chazz said, acting like he was startled to see him there. "So this is _your _house? Sorry. Guess it's been awhile since I was last here. I was just looking for my, uh, contact! And I found it, so I guess I'll just be on my way, then."

Hand behind his back to hide the camera, he started backing away slowly.

_Yeah, like I'm buying that! He doesn't even _wear _contacts! _Firmly, Jaden said, "Give me the camera, Chazz."

"Camera? What camera? I don't see any camera."

"That's because it's behind your back."

Chazz acted startled for a moment, then pulled the camera out from behind him. "Oh! You mean _this_ camera! Silly me! When did that get here? Well, you see, this camera isn't even mine. It belongs to my wife, Mindy. So I think I should go return it to her now," he finished, trying to slink away again.

He made the fatal error of turning his back on the half-duel spirit Jaden Yuki. Jaden grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him closer, saying, "Give me whatever you just filmed, Chazz Princeton."

"I didn't film anything!" Chazz protested.

"Luna saw you at the window. You weren't looking for any contact!"

Chazz sweat. "Well, I..."

That's when help came from a very unexpected source. A car pulled up in front of Jaden's place, and an Australian man with a bandage over his right eye stepped out of the driver's side, looking perplexed. A blond Japanese woman got out on the other side, looking mildly annoyed as she took in the scene.

"What's going on here, Chazzy?" the woman asked, walking over.

"Jim?" Jaden asked, looking at the two. "Akiko? What are you doing here?"

"Syrus and Jesse called us, asking if we could check up on you," Jim answered in a heavy Australian accent. "They say you're here alone with the little ones." _Why they called us instead of just coming over themselves, I'll never know, though._

Akiko added, "And they wanted us to make sure that you're still sane and they're still alive."

"Well, the kids are fine, but...can somebody get this lunatic off of me before something bad happens?" Chazz asked, hitching a thumb over his shoulder at Jaden.

Arms crossed, Akiko eyed the camera. "Spying, are we? Drop the camera and get out, Princeton."

"I wasn't spying! I was filming a documentary. 'What Happens When You're Stupid Enough to Leave a Slacker Alone with Children.' So he was the perfect subject for it. Sue me."

"Maybe I will," Jaden said, glaring threateningly at Chazz.

_Surprise! Jay's going crazy. No wonder they called us. I mean, I'm great with kids,_ Akiko thought. "Okay, Chazz? Clearly he's not in the mood, so you might wanna quit with that snarky attitude of yours. You know, before you get yourself hurt."

"Right. Here," Chazz said, holding the camera out.

Jaden snatched it, then let go of Chazz, practically throwing the guy away from him. A ten-year-old red-head got out of Jim's car, along with the crocodile Shirley. The girl, Jim and Akiko's daughter Akiza, came over and looked at her father in concern.

"Daddy? Is Uncle Jaden going to be okay?" she asked.

Jim looked at Jaden, silently asking him that same question.

Jaden was quiet for a moment before suddenly, hand's flying to his head as the camera fell to the ground, he screamed, "THEY'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! WHY WAS I DUMB ENOUGH TO SAY I COULD HANDLE THIS!? I _CAN'T_!"

Akiza ducked behind her mother at the beginning of Jaden's little freak-out.

Atticus walked up with his wife, Reggie, and their twelve-year-old daughter, Sherry.

"Wow," he said. "That's some outburst, bro. Need a hand there?"

"YES!" he finally admitted, shouting it to the heavens. "I've got five broken windows, two broken vases, I need to buy more carpet cleaner because of all the mud getting tracked, the closet door needs fixed—"

"I see," Zane cut him off, walking over with his 11-year-old son. "So that's why Sy called me." He turned to his son, Yusei, and asked, "Well, son? Can you help him out?"

"Sure, father," the blue-eyed boy said.

"Is that okay with you, Jay?"

"Yeah," Jaden said. "Sure."

"I can help, too!" Atticus insisted. "I'm great with kids, right, Sherry?"

The young blond closed her eyes, saying, "Please, Dad. You're embarrassing us all."

Reggie grinned. _That's my girl._

"Why do you think we're here, idiot?" Akiko asked. "Not all of us are Chazz."

"Thanks, guys," Jaden said, grateful for the help.


	7. How to Handle Children

**A/N: One more chapter after this. Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.**

* * *

With the help of his friends, Jaden's last day as a solo father was manageable—though it was still chaotic.

"Leo, what did I tell you about playing with the cats?" Yusei asked calmly as Leo yanked Pharaoh's tail, causing the cat to swat at him.

"That...I'm supposed to be gentle with them?" he answered questioningly.

"That's right. They're not toys, Leo. You need to treat them the same way you treat your friends. Like this."

He got down on the floor and started petting Pharaoh, who started purring.

"See?" Yusei said. "He likes this. Now you try it. Gently, okay?"

"Okay," the little boy answered, petting the cat gently.

* * *

Akiza and Sherry played with Luna, which kept her out of too much trouble.

"Look, girls!" Akiza said to her friends, showing off the dress she was wearing—they were playing dress-up with Alexis' clothes. "Doesn't this dress look great on me?"

"It sure does," Sherry answered, putting on a sunhat. "What about this hat? Too much?"

"Nope!" Luna said, shaking her head. "You look great, too, Sherry! And, Akiza, I bet this tiara will look good with your dress!" She took off the tiara she had been wearing. "Why not try it on?"

"Anything you say, 'Queen Luna!'" the red-head answered, bowing playfully.

* * *

While the twins were occupied by their friends and cousin, the adults took care of Jaden. First Zane taught him how to stay calm under pressure, no matter what, in part because they all felt calming him down was a necessary first step to avoid anymore outbursts like he'd had earlier.

"Now, breathe and drink," Zane said, handing Jaden a cup of tea. "The tea calms the nerves, and the breathing calms the mind. Always take the time to do this when the chance arises. That way, you're ready for anything."

Jaden took a deep breath, then said, "Okay."

They heard a crash somewhere else in the house.

"Let's check that out together, okay?" Zane suggested calmly.

Sounding a bit worried, Jaden answered, "Okay."

"Deep breaths, Jaden. Deep breaths. It's probably nothing serious."

He took a deep breath and nodded. Zane nodded back, and they headed into the hallway with the others following.

"Yusei?" Zane asked upon seeing his son there with Leo. "What was that?"

They looked down and saw a fern on the floor—along with the potting soil and shards of the pot.

"I'm sorry, Father," the boy answered. "You see, Leo wanted some chocolate milk, and I went to get him some, telling him to wait here. But, while I was gone, he started playing with a rubber sword and knocked over the plant."

Leo, looking guilty, said, "I didn't mean to."

"It's fine," Jaden said calmly. "Just be more careful, Leo."

"Okay, Dad. Sorry."

"And, Yusei, keep a better eye on him, okay? You came to help, not make things worse," Zane said.

Yusei nodded. "Okay, Father. I will."

The kids left to go play somewhere out of the way while the adults cleaned up the mess.

"See?" Zane said to Jaden, smiling. "Deep breathing. Works every time."

Jaden smiled back at him. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Great," Reggie said. "Now get a dust pan, and we'll clean that up together."

"Right," he said, heading off to the broom closet.

* * *

Once he and Reggie had that mess cleaned up, Atticus showed Jaden how to do something he hadn't even thought of—hide all dangerous items in a place the kids would never find them. Such as cleaning supplies or scissors, for example.

"So, you see, if you put them in there, not even Detective Chazz can find them!" he said, gesturing to the kitchen cabinet he had just stored the cleaning supplies in. He had put them behind some cook books that Alexis never really used.

"Well, I couldn't if I hadn't seen you hide them up there," the "detective" amended, smirking.

"So, basically, hide stuff where they wouldn't be able to find it, and make sure they don't see me hide it," Jaden summarized.

"Precisely!" his brother-in-law said. "And make sure to hide it behind a bunch of boring-looking stuff, too, like books! The big, huge chapter kind! I'm sure Sissy has some around here somewhere!"

"Or you could just say a monster lived there," Chazz added.

"Yeah, but what if they got curious about it eventually?" Jaden pointed out. "I'm just gonna go with Atticus' idea."

Chazz humphed and said, "Suit yourself."

Atticus winked, giving a thumbs up. "Now let's go hide something else."

"Okay," Jaden said, following him out of the kitchen.

* * *

"Really," Reggie said later as she and Akiko cleaned up some juice Luna had spilled on the living room carpet. "Using a sponge works best on tough stains, like juice stains."

"Sorry, Aunt Reggie, Aunt Akiko," Luna said. "I didn't mean to."

"It's fine, Luna," Akiko assured her. "We know you didn't do it on purpose."

"Right. Now run along, dear, so we can clean it up, okay?"

"Okay, Aunt Reggie!" the girl said before running off.

Reggie turned back to Jaden and added, "Also, it helps if you use a cleaner of some sort if the spill is on a carpet, like this one."

"Right, got it," he nodded.

* * *

Later, Jim found himself helping vacuum up a rather familiar messy substance for him—dirt. Dirt that Leo had brought inside to play with. Honestly, when they saw that mess, Jim was worried for a minute that Jaden was going to start crying or something. It went through the entrance hall, up the stairs, and down the hallway to the twins' room. Apparently Leo was in a cave—at least, that was what he said he was doing. Fortunately, Zane's advice came to the brunette's mind, keeping him from flipping out.

"Alright, it's not that hard, you see, mate?" Jim said. "All you've got to do is turn it on and point it at the floor. This vacuum's made so you can move it all around the house. Great for picking up dirt."

It was a canister vacuum, with the handle and the tube, for which Jim was grateful—that was the only kind he ever used. The fact that Jaden didn't even know how to turn it on scared them all just a bit, but, after all, this _was_ Jaden they were talking about, as Chazz pointed out. Jim started vacuuming the dirt up off the stairs.

Catching something in his friend's tone, Jaden asked, "What? Akiza get a lot of dirt on the floor?"

"She likes to garden. Let's just put it that way."

"Look, Daddy!" the girl in question said, running over with a piece of paper in hand. "Luna drew a pretty rose for me!"

Jim glanced at the picture, then smiled at his daughter. "Hey! That's great, sweetheart! Why don't you go show your mom?"

She nodded. "Okay! But, uh, you might want to be careful before you vacuum up that toy race car, Dad."

Jim looked. "Whoa!" He moved the vacuum hose away from the small toy car, then bent down and picked it up. "Thanks, Akiza."

"You're welcome, Daddy! Good luck!" she said, running off to show her mother the rose Luna had drawn for her.

Reggie humphed. "Cute kid. You get all that, Jaden?" she asked.

"Uh-huh. I got it."

"Alright, mate. Now, let's finish this."

Keeping an eye out for more toys, Jim went back to vacuuming up the dirt.

* * *

After that, even Chazz helped out. He taught him how to distract the "little mongrels," as he called them, long enough to relax for awhile.

"So, if you give a boy a video game he likes to play and give a girl a tea set, they'll most likely stay out of trouble for a while," he said in conclusion. "It worked on Jack, at least."

"Coloring books work, too," Reggie added.

"Not on Jack, they didn't."

"Right, okay, so pick something they like and give it to them to keep them occupied for awhile," Jaden summed up.

"Yeah," Akiko said. "Like, for example, I always stick Akiza in the garden. Keeps her busy for _hours_."

"Well, Jack only likes video games. Especially battle games. He loves beating the tar out of his opponents. He could do it forever."

"Right. Everybody's different," Akiko agreed. "My real niece and nephew both always got absorbed in their coloring books, so you just need to know the kid."

"Exactly," Chazz said. "So what does Leo like?"

"Dueling."

"Great. Buy him a dueling video game. What about Luna?"

"I'm thinking a tea set would do it...," he said, imagining Leo getting dragged into having a tea party with her.

"Great," Akiko said.

"Then all ya gotta do is set up a time of day for each activity and relax while they're distracted," Chazz said. "That's a good time to practice Zane's advice, too."

"Okay, got it."

Luna came up behind him, along with Akiza and Sherry, asking, "Um, Dad?"

He turned. "Yeah, Luna?"

"Can we pick some of the flowers in the garden to make crowns with? I wanna make one for Akiza and Sherry."

"Dad!?" Leo called as he ran over, his duel disk in hand. Yusei was following closely behind. "Can Yusei and I go outside to duel? He's got a cool new deck, and I _really _wanna see it in action!"

"Alright," Jaden answered. "Go ahead, guys."

"Thanks, Daddy! You're the best!"

"Yeah! Thanks, Dad! Let's go, Yusei! I wanna see that Junk Warrior of yours in action!"

The kids ran outside.

"Heh. Not bad for a start," Chazz said. "Now what ya gonna do? Relax in the lounge chair watching TV or take a nap?"

"Think I'll take a nap," Jaden answered, thinking this had been a rather exhausting week.

"Good idea," Zane said. "You've had a long day, Jaden. Why not go rest up? We'll take it from here, right, guys?"

"Right!" Jim answered with a smile. "Don't worry, mate!"

"They're no worse than my brother," Akiko added.

Reggie and Chazz nodded, with Chazz adding, "Hey, I've got Jack. These two are nothing compared to him."

"Thanks, guys. You're the best!" Jaden said before running off to his room for a nap.

* * *

His friends spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of the kids. Akiko managed to get them both doing arts and crafts—along with several of the other children—when they came back inside, and they were still doing that with her when Jaden woke up.

"It's funny," Jaden observed to Jim. "When you started dating her, I'd thought you'd lost it. I mean, sometimes, she seems kinda...well, mean. How is she so good with kids, Jim?"

Jim laughed. "That makes two of you who thought I'd gone mad. Hassleberry told me as much when he met her! She's rough around the edges, but she's always been gentle to little ones. Guess she's got a soft spot for them, mate."

Chazz humphed. "Weird. I didn't know she _had_ a soft spot."

"That's because you're annoying, Chazzy," she called.

He tensed. The kids laughed at his reaction.


	8. Friday Evening Finally!

**A/N: Here's the final chapter. Jaden's nightmare is finally over. Well, not really. Read on to see what I mean by that. Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.**

**Flashbacks are in bold.**

* * *

His friends left later that evening, and Jaden made dinner. Around six, while they were eating, the door opened, and Alexis' voice called, "Kids! I'm home!"

"Yay! Mommy's home!" Luna cried as she and Leo got up and ran to meet their mother. "Hi, Mom! How was your trip!?"

Jaden walked into the entrance hall, halfway dreading this, as Alexis said, "It was alright, and how was your—"

"Mom! Mom!" Leo said, tugging on her skirt. "Guess what!? Dad's part duel monster!"

Her eyes widened. "W-what!?"

_And here we go..._

"Uh-huh!" Luna said. "And it's a girl, too! Isn't that funny?"

Alexis glared at her husband. "Jaden? _What_ are they talking about?"

_"__Oh, uh, now you're dead,"_ Yubel said. _"Might be a good time to mention that I told you to tell her that. Good luck."_

"Well, uh..." He rubbed the back of his head. "Kinda came out...around bath time."

"Well, spit it out! What'd you do, _Jaden_!?"

He cringed. "Uh...had to break down a closet door to get Leo out?" he told her hesitantly.

"What?"

"He barricaded himself in the closet to get out of taking a bath."

Alexis sighed. "Jaden. Did you read my notes at all?"

"Uh..."

"I thought so. See, Leo does that all the time. I learned a long time ago that, if you have his favorite candy bar and tell him he can only have it as a reward for taking a bath, he'll get one without question. Page 14 of my notes."

Jaden stared at her, wishing he'd known about that sooner.

"So I guess, since you didn't read my notes, there's probably a lot more broken around here than just that closet door, right?"

He sweat. "Uh..."

"What broke, Jay?"

"Five windows, a couple of vases...I'm not sure if this was just in my dreams or not, but the TV..."

"Uh, sorry about that last one, Dad...," Leo said.

"Guess that _did_ break," he said. _Yeah, that's right. Jack broke it in my dreams, but Leo broke it in reality._

"Jaden, how many times do I have to tell you?" Alexis asked. "Make time for studying once in awhile. It could save your life one day."

"Believe me, I _will_ from now on!" he said, running off in search of those notes Alexis had left him.

"Good." She turned to her kids and said, "As for you two, why did you have to give your dad such a hard time? I told you to behave yourselves."

"We're sorry, Mommy," Luna said. "We didn't mean to."

"Yeah," Leo agreed. "We were just trying to have a little fun. We're only kids, you know?"

"I know, dears. But that doesn't mean you should be doing all that stuff, okay?" She knew what they'd been doing—after all, she was usually the one home alone with them. "A lot of it's dangerous. It could get you both seriously hurt someday, and I don't want to see that happen. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Momma," Leo said as Luna said, "Yes, Mommy."

"Good. Now, to go and see how bad it is." She walked off to check the ruins and see what had survived in her house.

* * *

Jaden, meanwhile, sat at the kitchen table, reading the notes Alexis had left for him. He had just read that it was best to have Leo face away from the house in their huge backyard where there wasn't anything to hit if he was playing baseball—he usually hit a home-run (something else he wished he had known before). He also read that Luna could help clean up some of the messes if he needed it (which he had figured out already).

_"__Wow. Look at all those notes. Too bad you were too dumb to even pick them up."_

He read a couple more lines, flipped a couple pages, then said, "I'm keeping these. You know, in case she has to leave again."

Alexis walked in and said, "So, Jay? What would you say if I said I had to go away for a whole month?"

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes wide in horror, then buried his nose in her notes, studying more than he ever had in his life as he tried to commit each word to memory.

Alexis laughed. "So I take it that's a no?"

"Please don't leave," he said desperately as he looked back at her. "Ever."

She laughed again. "Just kidding, hon. Man. You hate our kids, don't you?" she teased.

He was quiet a moment before, "I had nightmares about them being more than twins...and Jack was in it...and me...and the Supreme King... You tell me."

"W-what?" she asked through her laughter. Nightmares about the Supreme King she could understand. Nightmares about their kids that just happened to include the Supreme King seemed a bit wild.

"Yeah. Jack broke the TV, the Supreme King wanted to kill little me for drawing on his face, one Luna was drawing on the wall with one Leo, another Luna got her nose pierced, another little me was tracking mud... There were more Leos than Lunas."

"Okay, that's bad," Alexis laughed. She could remember a time when the Supreme King would have been the star figure in his nightmares. Apparently now Leo had taken that place. "That make you glad it's my turn now?"

"Huh?"

"The mayor called. He wants to see you—"

"I'm off!" he said, jumping up and running out as fast as he could.

"Jaden!" Alexis called after him. "You didn't let me finish!"

He didn't come back.

"Oh, boy. Wonder what he's gonna do about the mayor's personal request?"

**"****I need to leave on a four-week business trip, and I want Jaden Yuki to protect my daughter while I'm away," the mayor told Alexis. "Make sure he gets the full message, Alexis."**

**"****I'll see what I can do, sir," she promised.**

**"****Her life is in his hands now. I wish him the best of luck."**

**He hung up. Alexis stared at the phone a moment before sweating and muttering, "Yeah, I do, too..."**

That had been while she was in the taxi on the way back home.

"I sure hope you can pull this one off, Jay," Alexis said. "Good luck with Crystal."

She had met the fourteen-year-old spoiled girl before, and she would rather deal with Leo and his chaos than that bossy little brat any day.

* * *

"I said I wanted the _orange_ jam, not the grape!" the ebony-haired brat said. "You're the biggest idiot I know."

_Babysitting. Why am I surprised?_ Jaden thought, irritated. He was a _hero,_ not a babysitter! His job was to protect the town, not make sandwiches for spoiled teenagers!

"Take it back," she said, pushing the sandwich back at him. "And _this_ time, get it right, you idiot."

_"__You heard the 'boss,' Jaden,"_ Yubel teased. _"Keep her happy, like the mayor said."_ She laughed.

"Alright," Jaden said, picking up the plate. It was difficult not to just dump the stupid thing on her head. _This is the last time I do that man any favors...,_ he thought as he headed off to make another sandwich. _Why didn't he just leave a couple body guards here!? Or at least his maid! _Somebody_ to help me out here! WHY DO I HAVE TO DO THIS ALONE!?_

That was the day Jaden Yuki decided he hated taking care of kids, especially when he had to do it alone.


End file.
